On March 29, 2012, Governor Gregoire signed into law Substitute House Bill 2443. Its provisions take affect on August 1, 2012. Defined as “an act relating to increasing accountability of persons who drive impaired,” it deals with a number of different DUI related topics. The most practical changes from an everyday standpoint deal with amendments… Read More

For several years now an inequity has existed within the landscape of DUI laws that wasn’t just unfair but completely counter intuitive. This inequity created a situation where there were situations when being convicted of a DUI created a more favorable outcome than having that charged reduced to the lesser offense of Reckless Driving. State… Read More

Most clients who are approaching me for the first time and facing a DUI charge ask the same or similar question.  “What can I do to show that I am taking this seriously?” My answer is almost always, universally the same.  Attend a DUI Victims Panel.  Created as a way to teach about the potential devastating… Read More

The Washington State Patrol DUI has announced it’s schedule of of DUI emphasis enforcement from now through the end of the summer of 2012.  Of particular note is that a concentrated emphasis patrol will be in joint effect for King, Pierce and Snohomish counties on and around St. Patrick’s Day.  Particular points of emphasis will… Read More

One of the most common, if not the most common questions I receive when speaking with someone who has just been arrested for DUI is, “Can I still drive or has my license been suspended automatically?”  Most are surprised to learn that the mere fact of a DUI arrest in Washington state does not mean… Read More

On Friday, February 10, 2012, a Seattle City Police Officer was arrested in downtown Seattle for DUI.  This marks at least the third such arrest for a member of the Seattle Police Department within the last year alone.  This entry really is not about rubbing it to the SPD.  People get arrested for DUI.  Good,… Read More

The Washington State Patrol has announced plans to implement DUI emphasis patrols throughout King County over Halloween weekend.  The specific patrol information can be found at watikileaks. On Friday, October 28th through the early morning hours of Sunday, October 30th, additional DUI patrols will be present throughout all of King County.  Additionally, there will be specific… Read More

In 2008, the Washington State Legislature created the Ignition Interlock License (IIL). Effective in January of 2009, individuals who had been convicted of DUI or had their license suspended or revoked administratively were, in most cases, now given the opportunity to continue driving during the period of suspension/revocation so long as this new law was… Read More

With one legislative action and one election, the face of the Seattle Municipal Court has gone through its most dramatic change in decades. The facelift began when the Seattle City Counsel decided to trim one of the eight judicial positions on the Seattle Municipal Court due to budgetary cuts. It ended when four new judges… Read More

King County District Court Judge Judith Eiler has been suspended for five days without pay by order of the Washington Supreme Court.   The order represents a reduction of the Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct’s initial ruling that the judge be suspended for a period of ninety (90) days.  The suspension is based upon repeated violations… Read More